I don't know, but Kang, a solid BJJ guy, shouldn't be caught by bangers. Sure, you can get caught by a rapid sub, but this was not a rapid sub; Kang could've gotten out of it. I don't know, just weird. If he were caught and KO'ed, I wouldn't really mind. I mean, yeah, he got caught, fighters get caught, it happens. But to not get out of an obvious triangle attempt by a guy with little ground skills, wow.

I think you're not giving enough credit to Mousasi, who has clearly become much more than a "banger". The guy's only 22 years old and he's improving with leaps and bounds, each time he's in the ring. I think Mousasi could be the next big MW and he could very well win this tournament.

Denis looked great, but you have to give credit to Mousasi for broadening his skillset and subbing a superior grappler (on paper at least).

Mousasi's a banger, he likes to stand and KO fools and his ground game isn't hot shit. I never said he sucked or anything.

He's known for knocking guys out, but now his ground game is an added concern for anyone he faces. Seriously, he's not the best ground-fighter in the world, but he's definitely making much needed improvements. Calling him just a "banger" isn't really fitting anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damone

I seriously don't see him becoming the next big MW, dude needs a lot of work and I love me some Armenian fighters. But, who knows, he's young. Still, I don't see it.

He's already got the striking, his ground game is improving, he can take a shot, he's young, and he's (now) fought and a beaten a top 10 MW. What more could you ask for in a young prospect? They're not going to be great at everything right away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damone

And wow, you thought Denis looked, "great?" Like, you thought he looked great just letting dude slap on that triangle?

Denis looked great up until the triangle. He was dominating Mousasi, and even winning the stand-up before taking it to the ground. He did a poor job escaping the triangle, but aside from that I thought he looked stellar.

I can't really say he's improved on the ground. Sure, he didn't get subbed, but Kang looked pretty bad in that fight, and he pretty much let Mousasi slap on that triangle.

I just don't see him becoming the next big MW. A solid MW? Sure, but the next big MW? No, not yet. He has some solid wins under his belt, like the Hector Lombard win (And Kang if you want to include it), but I just don't see it yet.

I thought Kang looked far from stellar. I'd say that he looked pretty damn pathetic towards the end of that fight, just letting Mousasi slap on a pretty meh triangle.

Denis looked great up until the triangle. He was dominating Mousasi, and even winning the stand-up before taking it to the ground. He did a poor job escaping the triangle, but aside from that I thought he looked stellar.

You're usually dead on with your analysis, but this one wreaks something fierce. Kang didn't look good one bit. He threw a one to (Uppercut + Hook which both missed), then shot in a for a take down which was alright. From there he tried for a kimura, which took him nearly 2 minutes. He finally got it in place, was in side mount but couldn't execute it, at which point Gegard freed himself and Kang stood up.

From there he tried to jump in with some shots while manuvering Gegards legs, but he made a rookie mistake and left his arm there. It took Gegard about 5-10 seconds to fully sink that triangle in, which Kang could have easily pulled out of because it wasn't tight at first. Then, we all know what happened there.

You're usually dead on with your analysis, but this one wreaks something fierce. Kang didn't look good one bit. He threw a one to (Uppercut + Hook which both missed), then shot in a for a take down which was alright. From there he tried for a kimura, which took him nearly 2 minutes. He finally got it in place, was in side mount but couldn't execute it, at which point Gegard freed himself and Kang stood up.

From there he tried to jump in with some shots while manuvering Gegards legs, but he made a rookie mistake and left his arm there. It took Gegard about 5-10 seconds to fully sink that triangle in, which Kang could have easily pulled out of because it wasn't tight at first. Then, we all know what happened there.

I'll rewatch the fight, I may have had my Canadian nut-hugging glasses on during it. Either way though, I don't like how Damone's downplaying Mousasi's improvements as a fighter, he just submitted a legit top 10 opponent.